Chirp, chirp, chirp… a sound that for some equals summer while for others equals annoyance. Ah, the song of the cricket. Crickets are common throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties.  The most common of the songs we hear on warm summer nights, or well any night really, is that of the male playing his song of courtship to the females. Or it can be a fighting chirp to repel other males from the females they are hoping to woo over. And the cricket is one of 2,400 species of leaping insects that are known for their chirping males! A. E. Dolber, a Tufts College professor, was the first to find the relationship between the temperature and rate of chirps. As temperatures rise the chirp rate becomes faster, and always at a consistent rate. So it make sense that chirps would increase in warmer temperature as the males are looking for courtship so their offspring will be created in the fall and hatch later when spring arrives. However, those lovely evening serenades can become hazardous to our gardens as egg laying can cause damage to plants as females lay eggs in plant stems and soil.

Crickets Throughout History

Crickets have played a large role in myth and superstition around the world. They are typically equated with good fortune and intelligence and harming a cricket is believed to cause misfortune. Yet, crickets will feed on plants, animals, clothes, and each other, which depending on your outlook they may be more of a pest than a bearer or good fortune.

Crickets as a Food Source

Worldwide crickets are consumed, especially in the tropics, through the practice of entomophagy – or the consumption of insects. Throughout the year they are available throughout the tropics and thus considered an abundant food source. In general crickets provide satisfactory amounts of energy and protein, while meeting amino acid requirements for human consumption. They are also high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as iron. In the Western world crickets are typically farmed as pet food rather than people food. While in nature crickets are prey for many animals and are a key part of the food chain.

What Attracts Crickets?

Three key factors contribute to the attraction of crickets to your yard or inside your home: food, shelter and light. Outside crickets typically live within the foliage of plants, under rocks, in lumber piles and under trash cans. They will also tend to congregate in areas with abundant light, such as porches with lights on, garden lighting, and street lights. When the temperature drops in autumn crickets will venture in doors to the warmer temperatures, where food and shelter can be found as well, such as in and around kitchens. Luckily should a cricket enter your home the damage they can cause is minor and unnoticeable, however should there be a population outbreak major damage can occur.

Have a cricket infestation?

Should crickets invade your Riverside homes or gardens we’re here to help. Contact us for an inspection and discussion of possible solutions for your cricket needs.

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Let’s quickly clear the air for this little insect. Earwigs do not derive their name because they enjoy burrowing into one’s ear, as some myths and legends may have you believe. Their name instead originates from the Old English eare wicga, meaning ear beetle. Entomologists believe that the name referenced the appearance of the hindwings which resemble human ears when unfolded. So never fear –  your ears are safe! However, plants and other insects in your garden may not be so safe.

Earwigs in the Garden

Earwigs are primarily nocturnal and will hide in moist, small crevices during the day. While active at night they feed on a variety of plants and insects. During the day they can be found in bark, fallen logs, wood chips, as well as within other living and dead plant and animal matter. Earwigs tend to live in areas where they can scavenge for food. The forceps at the end of their bodies allow for protection as well as holding prey. Common earwigs are omnivores and enjoy eating plants and ripe fruit as well as arthropods. Their common diet consists of plants such as clover, dahlias, zinnias, lettuce, cauliflower, strawberry, blackberry, sunflowers, celery, peaches, plums, grapes, potatoes, roses, beans, beats and grass shoots, and prey such as plant lice, bluebottle flies and aphids.

Earwigs in the Home

Have you come across one of these prehistoric looking insects in your home? Have no fear, they are looking for small, dark, moist places to hide. During the summer you may find them more often near sinks or in bathrooms. However, they tend to gather in shady cracks and openings as well as anywhere else that will conceal them from daylight.

Earwigs Everywhere, literally

Earwigs are abundant throughout the world. They may be believed to be a danger to humans, however their pincers can cause little to no harm to us. Earwigs have a love/hate relationship with farmers as they eat the insects that can damage the crops, but the earwigs themselves can also eat the foliage of the crops and cause damage as well, though it does take a large amount of earwigs to do substantial damage to a crop.

What to do about Earwigs

If you find that the earwigs are not damaging your plants and seem to be keeping other insects away, then the easy choice is to let them be in, and your garden will thank you for it. However, if you find they are damaging your plants and invading your homes, then it is time to take more serious actions. Give us a call or submit a service request online and we’ll be happy to schedule an appointment to rid your Corona, CA home and garden of any pesky earwigs you may find.

The post Earwigs – Friend, Foe, or Both? appeared first on Craig & Sons Termite & Pest Control.

North and Central America are home to about 35 species of gophers. At some point, a healthy garden is likely to entice at least one species to your yard. No one wants to spend their spring and summer tending a garden only to lose their crop to a pest. Here are some simple ways to help prevent that unhappy outcome.

Build Mesh Enclosures

A mesh enclosure with a tight weave can prevent the pests from entering the garden. The tunneling nature of gophers means that you must dig down a couple of feet into the earth when you install the mesh. The average gopher tunnel is often 18-inches at its deepest, so it is helpful to have the mesh lower than they normally dig.

Make certain any mesh installed underground is coated for protection against moisture so it will not corrode. The fence should be about one-foot tall. Gophers do not jump very high, but they can climb, so bend the top of the fence at a 90-degree angle to prevent them from climbing over the barrier.

Use Raised Beds

A raised garden bed with an enclosed bottom protects the roots of the plants from gophers and restricts their access to the produce from underneath. A fence around the bed is still needed to keep them from climbing over the side, but the box reduces the effort you expend because a buried fence is unnecessary.

Plant Unappealing Crops

Gardeners that are not particularly fussy about what they grow, but just want some type of vegetable garden, may want to swap out their current crops. Gophers do not like garlic, peas, and beans. Peppers, squash, and tomatoes are also not the most tantalizing meal choices to gophers.

Flower gardens are usually safe from the furry thieves. Gopher repelling flower options include daffodils, marigolds, or lavender. Oleander and hydrangeas are other floral options popular with humans but less liked by gophers. Either choose to spend time gardening with flowers or surround a vegetable garden with flowers.

Euphorbia lathyrism, a plant also known as gopher spurge, releases a milky sap that is a skin irritant. The gophers dislike being near it because of the discomfort the sap causes their eyes and skin. Unfortunately, it causes the same problems for any animals (and humans) that come too close. Dogs can suffer other health problems after exposure to the toxic plant.

Try Natural Repellants

Natural repellants spread around the yard can help to deter some visitors. Pet waste may frighten off gophers that want to stay away from cats and dogs. Of course, most people would rather not be in a yard sprinkled with pet waste, so this method may only work for the perimeters of large yards that do not have neighbors directly next door.

You can use other products that are unappealing for gophers, but less offensive for people. Items with strong odors placed into the gopher tunnels can sometimes chase the animals away. Mothballs, coffee grounds, or tabasco sauce are examples.

Some of these items can also be dangerous for pets so always check the item’s toxicity to household animals before use. Mothballs, for example, can sicken cats and dogs. Only use these items in areas where your pets cannot reach and remember to remove them once the gopher threat is managed.

A gopher population may be too high for repellants to work effectively. Homeowners should avoid the use of gopher poison by themselves because the chemicals can harm innocent wildlife and sicken or kill cats and dogs. Use professional services instead. At Craig & Sons Termite & Pest Control, Inc. , we perform safe removal services. Contact us to schedule an appointment.

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